Three things I've learned in the month of May--
1. Sometimes you just have to start. Forget perfection...or ideal...or completely and thoughtfully all planned out. Because waiting for that magic moment--for me, at least--means never. As in never actually clearing out the clutter and giving things away that other people could be using and enjoying. Or never writing this blog. Or never getting together with your girlfriends for lunch. Or never actually cooking and trying those recipes that you keep cutting out of the cooking magazines and stuffing in a drawer. Or never tackling that big, overwhelming project because it's so, well, big and overwhelming! Or never calling that couple you miss seeing so much and with whom you want to go out to dinner. Or never writing down those three things for which you are thankful each day. Or never memorizing God's Word (partly because you can never quite decide which passage to memorize. Geez.)
Thinking about starting it someday in the future doesn't count. Because have you noticed, that day never quite seems to arrive?)
Yep, for me "someday" or "sometime" or "eventually" means never. And I'm sick and tired of never. I just wanna start...even haltingly or tentatively. Anybody else?
So how about we just begin. Just take that first teeny tiny baby step. Write a couple of sentences--even if they're crummy. Make the phone call--leave a message if necessary. Choose one drawer to clean out--start small, but start. Choose a weekend and write it down on your calendar--then make plans to get away, even if it's just driving downtown for dinner at a jazzy new place. But here's the point: we need--excuse me, I need--to stop making excuses and just start. Which is why I'm finally writing this blog after being overcome for the past week or so by a deadly combination of inertia, laziness, and busyness...but mainly inertia and laziness. Let's face it--life is always busy. We have to make time for what matters. So yes people, sometimes you just have to grab yourself by the bootstraps and say, "Okay, just start. Just take one step to begin. You don't have to finish. You don't have do it perfectly or even well...you simply have to start to do it and leave the rest up to God."
2. Change and transition are difficult--really, really difficult. I need to be prepared for this so it doesn't catch me unawares and knock me tumbling over like a rogue gigantic wave in an otherwise calm ocean. And it's okay to cry over what's past and gone. But after having yourself a good cry or a brief pity party (I said brief--I need this reminder), then it's time to embrace the new God is bringing and trust that His plans and ways are always for our good and His glory. What good does it do us to wallow in sadness and discouragement? How does it help to worry over the unknown future? Zip. Nada. Zero.
Instead, these are the times we need to follow David's example and "strengthen ourselves in the Lord." That's my second lesson--though it's one I need to learn and relearn about every other day! Whether we feel like it or not, we need to open God's Word and listen to Him speak to us. We need to see His beauty and glory revealed in page after page. We need to preach the Truth of the Gospel to our hearts...and we need to do it over and over again.
3. And related to the above, this is surely my favorite bit of wisdom I learned this month, and it's a fabulous quote from John Piper: "Occasionally, weep deeply over the life you hoped would be. Grieve the losses. Then wash your face. Trust God. And embrace the life you have."
Wow, that pretty much says it all and that's the very best thing I learned in May. Thank you, John Piper--and thank You Lord for the gift of all the wise mentors and role models in our lives.
I don't know where you are right now, but I'm praying one or more of these life lessons from May might encourage and strengthen your heart. So start--preferably today. Strengthen yourself in the Lord. And weep the loss, wash your face, trust God, and embrace your life today.
To God be the glory.
No comments:
Post a Comment